


when i call (please be there)

by FateChica



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Post-Season/Series 02, Pre-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 14:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19466212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FateChica/pseuds/FateChica
Summary: Mike calls El over the Supercomm. And, for the first time, she answers.





	when i call (please be there)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sophwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophwrites/gifts).



> So, as a way of channeling all my pre-show panic (I cannot take credit for that phrase, thank you Anna), I decided to write a little something in honor of the new season dropping tonight.
> 
> Soph gave me this prompt and it was perfect and so much fun to write, so I'm gifting it to her. Love you, boo!

His palms are sweaty where he’s holding the Supercomm, heart racing so fast it’s threatening to leap up into his throat and straight out of his chest.

Is it normal to be this nervous? Is it normal to feel like he’s going to implode just from the sheer thought of calling a pretty girl?

But it’s not just any pretty girl.

No, it’s _El._ And that makes _all_ the difference.

Mike knows she’s waiting for him to call her, knows she’s waiting in her room at the cabin she shares with Hopper, the new Supercomm him and the Party chipped in for together to buy her for Christmas in her hands. He knows she is because he felt the strange tingle along the back of his neck that let him know she was looking at him in the void, checking to see if he was ready to call at the time he promised her he would.

Is she still looking at him? Is she sitting there next to him, wondering why he’s frozen up out of nerves? Is he coming across as a complete and total loser right now?

No, she’s not and _he’s_ not. Mike doesn’t feel that telltale tingle on the back of his neck. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t waiting, doesn’t mean he isn’t stalling.

God, Mike wants to talk to her so bad. Even though he just saw her a few hours ago to drop off her Christmas gift, heard her soft coos of exclamation and thanks before she hugged him so, _so_ tight and pressed the sweetest kiss he’s ever received against his lips.

It’s only been about a month and a half since she’s returned to him and one of Mike’s favorite things is the sound of El’s voice, quiet but firm. There’s no hesitation when she speaks, but she doesn’t feel the need to be louder than necessary and it’s one of the many things that he lo- _likes_ about her.

( _it’s too soon for the l-word, **way** too soon to be thinking that. he’s barely 14 years old and the thought of it makes his whole body break out into goosebumps from both nerves and overwhelming happiness. but someday. someday he’ll be ready to tell her. hopefully she’ll say it back._)

So why is he hesitating? Why is he sitting here like an idiot, knowing there’s the most beautiful, amazing girl in the entire universe waiting for him to call her and doing nothing about it?

_What if she doesn’t pick up. What if she’s not **really** there. What if this is all a dream?_

And there it is, the small kernel of fear that has finally made itself known in all its irrational glory. For _months_ , he called out to her on the supercomm (every day for 353 days, to be exact), only to be met with silence and static, with dashed hopes and disappointed tears and frustrated worry that sat in his stomach like a sour lump and made him feel like all he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry.

But it’s _different_ this time, he knows it is. He can still feel the phantom press of her lips against his as she kissed him goodbye, can still smell the lingering scent of her shampoo, can still see the sweet, excited smile that crossed her lips as he told her he’d _call her at 9:00, promise._

This time, when Mike calls, El will answer.

_She has to._

Mike swallows the pit of anxiety that’s weaseled its way into his throat with a loud gulp and raises the Supercomm up to his mouth with a trembling hand. The channel’s already set to the one he and El agreed on, so all he has to do is press the button and speak. Easy peasy, right?

_Right._

With one sweaty finger, Mike presses the button and speaks. “Hi El, it’s Mike. Do you copy? Over.” If his voice shakes, Mike pretends not to hear it. And if his heart thumps loud in his chest, he tries not to feel it. Not when he’s practically on the edge of his seat, waiting, _praying_ to get a response, to hear the words he told her to say, to know that she’s really, _really_ there.

For a long, breathless moment, there’s nothing, no sound of static, no crackle of empty air. And just when Mike thinks his heart is about to explode, shatter into a million disappointed pieces, the telltale click of the line opening rings loud in his ear and his entire body sags in relief. Finally, _oh finally._

“Mike, it’s El. I copy. Over.”

**Author's Note:**

> UGH THIS SHIP OWNS ME. MY HEART CAN'T TAKE THIS. LESS THAN 10 HOURS TO GO UNTIL S3 AND I'M VERKLEMPT.
> 
> But let me know what you think!! And if anyone wants to come freak out with me on tumblr, I'm @fatechica there, so hit me up!


End file.
